Taking it up a notch, or two or three

The amount of activities Ian is involved in this Fall has skyrocketed to proportions we have never experienced before.  Ian has decided that he very much wants to try to make a go of acting professionally. While he is a very talented actor, he is just as untalented with dancing and singing.  Ian took a few voice lessons last year and has vastly improved his singing, but his ability to handle any kind of dance number in a show is less than stellar. 

Ian was up for taking a musical theatre class this year. Every 12 weeks, the teacher picks a number from a Broadway musical and the kids learn the dance and corresponding song.  The style of dance will change with each new session.  It's a really cool class and I love how they work on one singular song for the entire 12 weeks.  Ian is currently working on "It's too darn hot" from Kiss Me Kate.  After the first and second weeks, Ian gets in the car when I pick him up and tells me how he is the worst dancer in the whole class.   Yes, I have to agree he must be.  He hasn't had any dance instruction before and I've seen what he was capable of in other shows he's done.  It's pretty entertaining, and not in a good way.  I told Ian that I am sure all of these kids have taken other dance classes before.  I told Ian he needs to work at this more than he is, if he is truly serious about wanting to make it.  Heck, at this point, he needs to take some dance classes just to be able to audition and have a chance to even get a role in the high school musical.  There are a lot of very talented kids in Ian's school.

Ian finally agrees that taking more dance classes is a necessity.  We were able to register him for a Boys Ballet Class (all kids are 12+ in age) and a Broadway Tap 1 Class.  With the addition of the Musical Theatre Class, Ian is taking 4.5 hours of dance a week.  I adore this dance studio we found.  It's close to the house and everything Ian is taken is filled with students who are there to improve their theatre skills.  In a nice surprise, Ian knows almost everyone in each of his dance classes.  Ian went from having no dance shoes to now owning a pair of Jazz, Tap and Ballet shoes.  :)

Additionally, Ian is performing in two different plays this Fall.  A dramatic play with his high school and a musical with the acting program he does thru George Mason University, AFYP.

Here is Ian's current schedule:

Monday:
rehearsal at school from 3 to 6pm
tap class from 7:30 to 8:30pm

Tuesday:
rehearsal at school from 3 to 6 pm
boys ballet from 7:30 to 9pm

Wednesday:
rehearsal at school from 3 to 6pm

Thursday:
every other week Ian stays at school for Improv

Friday:
rehearsal at school from 3 to 6pm

Saturday:
musical theatre from 8:30 to 10:30am
AFYP (acting for young people) from 1:30 to 5pm

Sunday:
religious school from 9 to 12pm

It is weird that the most I see Ian each week is in the car as I pick him up from one place or drive him to another.  I think I could easily moonlight as an UBER driver at this rate.  I am pretty much already acting like one, minus the paycheck.

It is so wonderful as a parent to see your child find something they are passionate about and want to work as hard as they can to excel. I absolutely love that Ian is a full-fledged theatre kid.  He has found his people and they are such a great group of kids.  They spend many hours together each week and it's comforting to know that Ian is with kids who are similarly minded and are a good influence on each other.

The icing on the cake is going to the theatre and knowing I have a built-in partner-in-crime to join me in seeing anything on the stage.

Hanging up the dance shoes

And in other news, I am working extremely hard at cutting back our activities.

I came to a decision that we will take a break from gymnastics, dance, swim lessons (and of course religious school) during the summer. Other than the trips that are being planned and camp, all extracurricular activities are on hold. Last Summer I managed to keep everything going (in addition to camps) and it was one crazy day after another. It got me thinking, if I am ok with taking a break during the summer, than why not start now?!?!!?

 So I told Sam that after this current session of dance is over (last class was on Wednesday, February 27th), we weren't going to go back.   Sam took one look at me and said, "Ok, I will do soccer instead."   Um, that wasn't the point!  I told her we can look at doing it in the Fall, but the rest of this school year was going to be one activity less.

The funny thing is, I thought it would be really hard to break the news that she wasn't going to keep her dance classes.  I was expecting tears and screaming from her on how important this activity was.  Fortunately, this couldn't have been further from the truth.

And, when I told the two other moms who send their daughter's (Sam's BFFs) to this class, both of them were more than ready to stop going too.  I think we all came to the conclusion that after more than two years of this, we were ready for a break.

The woman who teaches this dance class is amazing and really wonderful with the kids.  You couldn't ask for a better environment -- it is not competitive in the least, very laid back, lots of fun and no crazy recitals requiring expensive costumes or requirements.  This year we had the class evolve to half ballet, half tap.  The 3 girls do have a wonderful time.

Here's the icing on the cake -- Miss M. is not coming back either to teach the class.  She has many other obligations and won't be continuing.

How funny that it is over all around?  Not only are the students leaving, but the teacher is too. 

And with that, my week is suddenly getting a little less crazy.  Not by a ton, but Wednesdays aren't going to be my craziest day anymore.

This is one of my most favorite pictures I've taken at dance class -- April 2011
Sam is in the middle.

Best. Day. Ever. !

Most weekdays I feel like a chicken with their head cut-off.  I am the "Time to make the donuts" man in the commercial.  I have to periodically look at my calendar hanging in the kitchen through out the day, to make sure I am where I need to be -- either picking up one of the kids, drop-off at a various after-school activity or any combination of things that need to happen on that specific day.

I am sure I spend more time in my car driving around than I do enjoying being at any given place.  That's just the way it goes and I am used to it.  I knew this school year would be a tough one.

Wednesday, November 20th stood out as an exceptional day.  Hands down this was the best day ever since the beginning of school.  It is hard to believe that it started off with a dentist appointment for each of the kids.

8:20am - Sam's dentist appointment

8:30am - Ian's dentist appointment

9:00am - Got Ian to school on time!  (Totally not expecting this to occur, as Ian's appointment was scheduled for 9:00am. They were able to get him in early!).

9:20am - Got Sam to school

9:45am to 11:30am - Worked for The Man

12:00pm - Early dismissal for Sam with the Thanksgiving holiday.

12:10pm - Went to lunch (at Einstein's Bagel) with Susanne/Ainsley, Anna/Ruby and Sam.

1:15pm - Arrived at Ruby's house to find out that Susanne was going to take the girls back to her house for an impromptu playdate.

1:40pm - Received a text from my friend Kelly asking if we'd like to meet at Sweet Frog (FroYo) after school.  Seriously? Could this day get any better!?!?! 

1:45pm - Pick Ian up from school (another early dismissal for the Thanksgiving holiday). 

2:00pm - Me and Ian met Kelly and her girls for frozen yogurt.

3:00pm - Took Ian to get a haircut.

4:15pm - Arrived at Sam's dance class -- met Sam there. :)

4:30pm to 5:00pm - Sam had dance class with her best buds.

6:00pm to 7:30pm - Went to Ledo's Pizza with Susanne and her kids, and Anna and her kids.  8 kids total, 3 moms....We are fearless like that.  Did I mention that Ledo's Pizza now has Gluten Free Pizza?  And it is super yummy!!

7:45pm - Arrive at Home.  Jeff puts the kids down.

Could this day have flowed any better?  I don't think so.  When I start to feel like I am getting overwhelmed needing to be in 3 places at once, I am going to think about this wonderful day and smile.

Sam was actually happy to be at the dentist!

Normally, it takes 3 technicians to hold Sam down while the dentist works as quickly as possible.  None of that was needed for this visit!  It was a beautiful thing how cooperative and happy Sam was during the whole visit.  Tears of joy were brought to my eyes.  Started the day off on a wonderful note.

Ian was a gem too!  We weren't the 'challenging' patients today!

The Weekend.

Want to know how to make the most of a weekend?  Take a lesson or two from Team Toppall.  I am not sure it is physically possible to do any more than we accomplished the weekend of November 16th.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 17TH:

10:00am - Jeff and Ian attend services at Olam Tikvah

Meanwhile, I clean the bathrooms and dust all surfaces. Sam helps!  We also change everyone's bedding and wash the sheets and towels.

12:00pm to 2:00pm - Ian goes to a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese

12:10pm to 4:30pm - Sam and I go out to lunch and see The Nutcracker

2:15pm to 4:45pm - Ian goes to his friend Nathan's house for a playdate

2:30pm to 4:00pm - Jeff vacuums and mops the floors.  And, does his wash.

5:00pm - We leave (as a family) for Gaithersburg, MD.

5:45pm - We arrive at friend's house.  Drop the kids off and get them settled to share in the babysitter.  Jeff/Me and Brian/Stephanie have a date night in Bethesda and eat at Mon Ami Gabi (super yummy!).

 9:45pm - Arrive back at the house; kids go to sleep immediately.


SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 18TH:

9:00am to 12:00pm - Ian attends religious school

9:30am to 11:30am - Jeff and Sam grocery shop at Wegman's (Yes, the Sunday before Thanksgiving!!!  They are crazy like that!!)

While they are gone, I take two solid hours and clean out our shed and completely reorganize it.  AM VETS is coming by on Monday morning to pick-up a donation.  HUGE piles of stuff is ready to go.

12:15pm - Jeff and Ian arrive back at the house.  Lunch is had by all.

12:45pm to 1:30pm - I rake 4 bags of leaves and get a good chunk of the front lawn done.

2:10pm - We all leave for Matthew's (nephew) birthday party.

3:00pm to 5:00pm - Birthday party at EarthTreks in Rockville (rock climbing).  Both kids climb and have a great time!

5:30pm to 7:00pm - Dinner with all of Jeff's family at the nearby Ted's Diner. 

7:45pm - Arrive back at the house, Sam goes to sleep immediately.


This weekend was a great mix of being super productive (cleaning the house, organizing the shed, donating a ton of stuff, raking leaves, grocery shopping), being super social (date night with friends, playdate, birthday party for Ian, hanging with my great mommy friend for lunch and the Nutcracker), throwing in some quality family time (Matthew's birthday party, dinner with the whole family afterwards), not to mention a little culture on the side (seeing the Nutcracker).

I am sure that Ian is going to be very happy to be back at school, just so he can be in one place for 8 hours straight.

This has to have been one of our more packed weekends.  The kids were wonderful at every event.  The weather was beautiful and it feels great to have lived life to the fullest.